Mogadishu Explosions Leave at Least Three Dead

Witnesses in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, say at least three people have died in a pair of attacks on government forces.

The witnesses say two civilians died Thursday when unknown attackers threw a hand grenade at government troops patrolling the Bakara market. They say the troops opened fire after the blast. At least three people were wounded.

In a separate incident, a Somali soldier was killed when assailants hurled grenades at a joint Somali-Ethiopian patrol in south Mogadishu.

The huge Bakara market has often been the scene of clashes between insurgents and Somali government forces.

Mogadishu has been plagued by almost-daily violence since January, shortly after the government and its Ethiopian backers ousted a rival Islamist movement from power in the capital.

The clashes have killed hundreds of people and hampered efforts by the transitional government to assert its authority.

Somalia has not had a stable central government since warlords ousted dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991.